Best Tips to Get Your US Working Visa

16 Sep Best Tips to Get Your US Working Visa

These tips (we think!) will help you succeed in gaining employment with a US employer and then successfully applying for your US visa. (For additional help, check out our E3 proven guide here). Some of these ideas you might either be aware of before or have read them during your research. Either way that is great because you already possess some of the best tools we believe for success in navigating the US Immigration system. So don’t think just because that some of these tips seem obvious that they may not be valuable! Additionally tips which should also both help you and save you money, which can be key in this expensive process, will be outlined and maybe save you unnecessary trips to an Immigration attorney, whom you would know if you have contacted one can be somewhat expensive to say the least.

Here are our Top 4 Tips (in no particular order of importance) to finding work in the US and getting your US visa.

1. Come to the United States if you want to find a job – You may ask what does this mean but it literally means what it says. Unless there is something extremely unique and exceptional about your experience, almost no US employers will hire you sight unseen. I personally, spent 6 months on Skype from my home in Melbourne, Australia, trying to convince someone to hire me! It wasn’t until I opened my 400th rejection email (literally), I made the decision to get a 3 month ESTA visa and come to the USA to scope out the situation. Now for many people this means a significant risk and cost, leaving home to search for a job on the other side of the world with no guarantee of success but I can tell you that without this your chances of success (especially in the current climate) would be close to 0. Save your pennies, jump on a plane, come here for 3 weeks, PLAN interviews in advance if you can, and make it happen!

2. Apply for jobs in sectors that are growing, less well known and with an open mind to location (think Start-Ups!). This advice is for today’s climate and looking forward into the near future so as will explain is very relevant. Now the 5 sectors that I believe you should focus on are; IT, Health, Education, Online and New Energy. Each of these sectors have a lot of money being pumped into them are growing rapidly and require a wide range of skillsets from Engineering to Marketing to Computer Science to Medical to Business, etc. As for the location flexibility, many people focus on the big areas like New York, California and Chicago as they tend among the most desirable places to live. However currently these are the highest taxed places in the country, have the highest costs of living and the higher unemployment rates meaning you are competing with a lot of qualified locals for positions.

3. Understand the US Job Interview. The US job interview is a unique animal depending on where you apply and things that may be important back at home will never be mentioned here and other things that are rarely discussed openly at home like monetary issues are often initial points of conversation here. Often if you are applying in the more modern online sector the people interviewing may be just wearing regular street clothes and more interested in your answers to questions like “What is a good time for you?” and “What type of music do you like to listen to while you work”. These companies are much more interested in you fitting into their culture and enhancing a fun environment (assuming you have the basic competencies for the role) rather than all the awards you have won. This may be very different if you are applying at a large Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical company where they may test your skills in an interview to cope with pressure by asking very direct questions to assess your confidence in a competitive environment. Long story short – research the company you are interviewing for!!

4. Be Over Prepared for your US Consulate Interview – The US Consulate interview depending on who you ask may seem to a simple process or like a criminal interrogation. More often than not the people who think it is tough are usually ones who are disorganized and do not have all their documents ready, fees paid and other things organized like paid return envelopes. Usually you have to pay a visa application fee at a nominated location PRIOR to going to your interview and have the confirmation receipt. Many visas like the H1B visa have visa issuance fees and these can also apply depending on which country you are from. US passport photos are also a different size to many other countries, so make sure you have a valid US sized passport photo. Also if you have to prove things like maintaining a residence abroad that you use common sense and not cease all connections you have with your home country and bring evidence like bank statements, mortgages, business ownership documents, mention immediate family connections, etc. (more often than not you never have to show this but it never hurts to have it).

So this not some sort of magic recipe for success but it is the common wisdom of hundreds of successful foreigners who have found work in the US, successfully applied for their US visa and now live happily in America. Don’t ignore the obvious!! Good luck!